赤 Aka
by antiwifi
Summary: Raised as the prodigal daughter of the great Pruner of the Tree, Akali was taught with high expectation. Sent away for training, she escaped her future and found another in the caves of Tevasa Mountain/ She is enlisted by a powerful group, the Headhunters, who aim to stop evil motives from being executed all over Valoran, and her first mission requires her to return home.
1. さようなら

**C1:** さようなら

"Hah-hah, hah… hah," Akali panted as she rose unsteadily to face her opponent.

Cloaked in deep red robes, a picture of elegant grace and dangerous toxicity embodied itself in the being of a beautiful woman with flowing black hair tied back in a braid, and forest green eyes that met Akali's own in a piercing stare.

Without warning the woman became a shadow, and became a flurry of fists and blades, pummeling Akali's body.

 _The Fist of Shadow, how fitting._

Akali fell to the ground, gasping as a trickle of blood made its way down her neck and towards the valley of her chest.

Her mother landed smoothly on her feet, brushing off imaginary soot. She began to walk closer and bent down.

Fixing her daughter with a stern gaze, she said all but two words.

"Again, Akali."

* * *

Akali groaned in pain as Hori soothingly placed lotus salve on her wounds. Grimacing at the sharp sting, she instead focused on the face of her best friend.

Hori was considered a rare beauty in their small but honorable village. Curled blonde hair found its way down her back and framed porcelain skin and pale blue eyes. A stark difference to the common dark haired, dark eyed residents of the ninja mountain, Hori was abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of the Elder Master of the village.

It was found that Hori had not fighting skill, but rather a talented affinity for healing and the practice of medicine, so she was taken under the wing of a successful young medicine master as an apprentice.

She found that most of her practice came from patching Akali up.

"I swear Hori, she was trying to kill me. These wounds are causing me to fall behind in school training! I can't improve if she keeps knocking me down like this," Akali complained, clutching on to her bruised wrist.

She was returned with a sympathetic smile, "Look Akali, you're not doing too-"

"Akali."

Akali stiffened at the interruption, and turned towards the entrance. There, in all her confidence and poise, was the very bane of Akali's existence herself.

"Mother."

Eyeing her daughter with a strict gaze, she walked up to Akali. "May I speak with you?"

After a moment's pause, she added.

"Alone?"

Hori flushed, mumbled an embarrassed "oh", and scurried out of the room. Akali glared at her mother.

 _What, do you wanna beat me up again?_

Sighing, Kage sat down at the foot of her daughter's bed.

"Akali, you know that everything we do, we train for, is all for you and your future, right?"

Akali rolled her eyes and nodded.

Her mother's lips came together in a grim frown.

"So I hope you'll understand when I tell you I'm sending you away for training."

 _What the_

 _Fuck_

"What? You're sending me away? Where? _Why?_ " Akali returned in anger, "I won't do it. I don't care. I won't leave my home."

Kage sighed, as if she were dealing with a petulant child, "Akali, stop being stubborn, I see you haven't gotten it through your _thick head_ but you are _weak_ , _useless,_ and the Kinkou Order does _not need someone like you_ becoming a _burden._ Do you not understand your duty? You are being raised to be honored with the responsibility of Pruning the Tree. How do you expect to uphold such an impertinent role with the meager ability that you dare call _skill_?"

Akali recoiled as if she had been slapped.

 _Useless, weak, burden._

* * *

Akali had just finished bidding her goodbye to Hori. Other students of the Kinkou Order Academy sniggered and pointed.

" _Look, the supposed prodigy."_

" _What a joke, we all know how she lost to one of the weakest fighters in the Academy."_

" _Pity, her mother's talent went wasted."_

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, trying to prevent her emotions from showing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure approaching.

Shen, the true prodigy,

And her first love.

 _A small girl with raven locks and a little boy (shorter than she was) clutched hands as they traversed across the stream, jumping onto rocks that formed a bridge through the shallow waters._

 _Making it to the end, both let out a shout of surprise as they tumbled to the ground._

 _Initially shocked, they soon began to giggle, which eventually led to laughter as the sun beat down on their joyful faces._

…

" _I don't know what to do, Akali's potential and true abilities should be appearing by now."_

" _Perhaps she is a lost cause."_

" _It's a shame, she's so close with Shen, and he's already so talented."_

" _Indeed."_

…

" _Shen… I don't understand… what did I do?"_

 _Stone cold was the face of the boy she loved so, so much._

" _Get away from me. It's an embarrassment to be seen with you."_

Their eyes met.

Akali saw nothing in his eyes, no semblance of what they used to be.

He walked past her.

' _No fucking way am I gonna be some lovesick bitch,'_ Akali thought to herself.

Looking from where she stood, she looked on to the grass, the temples, the medicine house, the training grounds.

She looked on to her home for the past 15 years of her life.

She looked on to the Order that never loved her.

"Akali, you'll come home soon."

In her mother's eyes, Akali saw relief.

 _Like hell I will._


	2. にげる

**C2:** にげる

"Master," a ninja in the shadows spoke, "Is my training finally complete?"

The slowly greying Arashi, great master of the winds and storms, turned to face the ninja.

"Yes, Akali, you have done exceedingly well as my apprentice."

* * *

Their home lay in what once was ruin in the deep caves of Tevasa Mountain. Far within the caves existed a secret and hidden sect, the Kamikaze Order, who had no central purpose but to exist in peace, training outcasts into terrifyingly strong fighters.

The Great Master spoke in a quiet tone, "Akali, don't you believe it's time to return to your village, your home?"

Akali, who had been sharpening her kamas, froze, and replied bitterly, "I have no home."

"They must have expected you to return from your training with the small northern branch of the Kinkou Order a year ago."

She cracked a wry grin, "Well I didn't exactly train there, did I?"

Arashi allowed himself a short chuckle, before sobering, "Akali, that day when you chose to diverge from your route to the north; you found yourself venturing Ionia and by fate you came here."

"That I did, Master."

"Don't you miss your friends?"

Akali thought of Hori, and her ceaseless love and care for Akali.

She looked at her master, "Master, I have no intentions of returning. I'd much rather spend my life here following the Kamikaze order."

The Master nodded in understanding, if not a bit of disappointment.

"I wanted to bring something up, an alternative, if you would."

Akali looked up from her blades, a questioning look burning in her eyes.

"A friend of mine, asked me to lend him one of my students to a position on his team."

"Team…?"

He nodded gravely, "The Headhunters. A group dedicated to gathering intel on any evil forces that might threaten Valoran. Through its vast means of communications, its purpose is to prevent or to deter these forces from their own immoral goals using an opposing force."

He continued, "Although the Headhunters is a very, very small group, it is composed of several of the strongest fighters in Valoran. Are you familiar with the art of Wuju fighting?"

Akali's eyes widened in recognition, "It's an incredibly powerful and mystic way of fighting, and I heard that the style has been lost for centuries!"

"Indeed, but Master Yi has mastered the Wuju practice, and currently leads the Headhunters. I want to offer this chance to you."

Conflict and excitement quickly overtook Akali. Looking down at the kamas in her lap, she suddenly bursted out, "But Master, why me? How am I suitable? I've been here training for two years...there's no way that's enough! I-"

"Akali."

She stopped.

"I believe in you. You have grown to be one of my most powerful fighters, and your skills and knowledge will surely benefit the Headhunters. I don't doubt that."

He continued, more gently, "I understand you have grown up with the seed of doubt blossoming in your heart, and it is the only thing that holds you back. It pains me to see that you've grown suffering, but I believe that one day, you will save Ionia. You will make Ionia, and I proud."

"Master…" Akali felt tears run down her face at her master's kind words.

"I-I...I accept."

He smiled.

Wiping furiously at her tears, she confirms in a stronger voice, "I will become a headhunter."

* * *

 **Kinkou Order, Ionia**

Shen crouched on the ground, spitting out blood, gasping as a shadow spun into him. Laughing louder than he ever did before, Zed smirked at him in contempt, eyes glowing Elder Master came out, shocked at the appearance of Zed after half a year.

"So this is your powerful, "Eye of the Twilight" prodigy," Zed spat, "What a weakling, got his ass handed to him."

The master ran to his son, checking for serious injury. Shen seemed to be almost unconscious.

"I have something great planned for the Kinkou Order," Zed said with a wide, wide smile. "Looks like we'll be meeting soon."

And disappearing within the shadows, he was nowhere to be found.

The Elder called for medics and muttered to himself, ' _We must call upon the aid of the Headhunters."_

* * *

Slicing the hanging vines with her kamas, she cautiously entered the mysterious side cave that Arashi told her to enter.

Akali peered around the room she found herself in, eyes resting on a wooden table where four other fighters sat.

Twirling a sharp, lengthy spear idly around her fingers, a sleek, dark-skinned female clad in dark green armor reclined casually in her seat.

Another was furiously tapping at a small, modern device, violet eyes narrowing in concentration. Similarly to Akali, she had long, black hair. Resting against the table next to her was a large sniper's gun, black and red streaks ran down its body,

Sitting at one end of the table, a hulking feline figure bared its fangs at a small mouse that had found its way into the cave, and its eyes, no eye was a cerulean blue, the other sewed by a scar.

At the head of the table, sat a lean man who bore silver armor and a devastatingly sharp blade that rested on his lap. The man's strangest characteristic was the seven glowing eyes that he had on his face.

"I see you've found them quickly."

Akali was so focused on the strangers that she jumped in the air when her master spoke. The four creatures looked up from what they were doing, the sniper more hesitantly as she reluctantly dragged her eyes from the screen to the door entrance.

The dark skinned girl, brown hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail, grinned with excitement and bounded over.

"Good to see you, Master," she acknowledged, bowing deeply to Arashi, before turning towards Akali.

"You must be Akali. Welcome to the ranks," she exclaimed, whilst hugging Akali, who was in a state of semi-shock.

The sniper stood in her place and gave a nod to the master. The feline grunted, and mumbled a hasty greeting. The seven-eyed man rose from his seat and embraced Arashi with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, my friend," he spoke in a soothing voice.

"You as well, dear comrade."

The girl who had happily greeted Akali pushed her towards the table, where an empty chair lay next to the sniper and her gun.

Akali took a seat, suddenly in awe of the legendary fighters she was surrounded by.

"I'm Nidalee," the outgoing girl began, "the girl who can't keep her eyes off her tech is Caitlyn, sheriff of Piltover. Big-kitty boy over here is Rengar, but feel free to call him Rengo."

The mentioned "Rengo" glowered at Nidalee.

Responding with a cheeky smile, she continued, "And that's Master Yi, leader of us headhunters."

Akali tried to respond, but nothing came out of her mouth. When she finally mustered the energy to speak, she returned with, "I'm Akali."

* * *

The sun beat down on Akali's back as they ventured through the dense forest. Several hours earlier, she had said her goodbyes to her beloved master. He had not only been a master to her, but a guardian, a parent as well.

"H-how much longer until we arrive?" Akali inquired, gasping as they had been sprinting to their destination.

Nidalee responded cheerfully, "About an hour."

She paused, "I could probably clear a better path if I transform."

"Nidalee, no." It was the first time Akali heard Caitlyn speak. She had managed to make conversation with Master Yi, and received several grunts from Rengar, but elicited nothing from the Sheriff of Piltover.

Nidalee turned to Caitlyn with a roll of her eyes, "It'll be fine, she'll find out eventually, right?"

She began to sprint quickly, before a sudden snap hit the air and human became animal.

What was an armored girl, was now an armored cougar-like creature. Akali gaped in shock, she had never seen a human who could transform herself into an animal. She swore she saw Nidalee wink at her, before dashing away, clearing and creating a path in the dense forestation.

* * *

 **Kinkou Order, Ionia**

Needless to say, Shen was pissed.

"Master, I'm not powerful enough to defeat Zed. He's too strong. His shadows, they-they're-"

The Elder silenced Shen with a hand, "Shen, Zed has allowed himself to be consumed by the darkness, and the shadows. He has destroyed Order and created Chaos. Our forces do have a chance of stopping his reign."

Shen grimaced, "I'm supposed to be the Eye of Twilight, I was raised to be a protector of the Kinkou Order. How will I live up to that power when I can't even defeat the threat?"

"I have sent a message to a secret group that will be able to stop Zed and his shadows. The Headhunters are a gathering of Valoran's strongest fighters. I have heard that they have recently enlisted a female warrior, a ninja like ourselves. I am curious to see what sort of powerful woman she is and if there is a way she will join our forces and find herself becoming the next Pruner of the Tree."

Shen's head snapped up, eyes widening in recognition and guilt, "But that position was reserved for…"

Stopping, he bent his head in a clear visage of emotion, "Akali," his voice coming out in a whisper.

"Shen."

He looked up again.

"You, I, her mother, and the rest of the village is painfully aware that Akali's training in the north has most likely not produced any sort of the tangible skill needed to hold that title, and responsibility. I understand you once held...feelings for her, but-"

"I didn't," Shen firmly denied, his countenance turning cold.

"I don't."


End file.
